Commissioners approve resolution for rail trail to seek $711,000 state grant

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Lebanon County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Thursday for Lebanon Valley Rail Trail officials to apply for a $711,000-plus state grant, which will help complete the last urban section of the 25-mile trail.

Tom Kotay, LVRT board member and the organization’s grant writer, presented that resolution along with requests for two grant time extensions, which were also approved by commissioners.

Read More: Rolling along: Lebanon Valley Rail Trail set to celebrate 30th year in 2026

Kotay said the state grant funding request is for $711,388 so that Phase 6D can be completed. (Another $95,000 for this phase will come from Lebanon County American Rescue Act funding and LVRT monies, according to Kotay.)

“That would all be DCED (Department of Community and Economic Development) statewide Local Share Account funds,” Kotay said about the state funding. “And those LSA funds … that come from gambling that are kept statewide and then designated to the various areas where there are gambling establishments or into a statewide account. And we’re applying into the statewide account for these funds.”

Kotay said construction is expected to commence in April 2027 and be completed by July of that year.

“Very short project to do and very easy to take care of. It’s basically removing some (Lebanon Valley Mall) parking spaces, a few obstacles in the way. Milling and paving and things like that,” Kotay said. “And again, the mall is very excited about this because they want pedestrians to go right through the mall. … I guess they hope they shop and buy something along the way.”

Kotay said LVRT officials are “really excited” about this phase for different reasons.

“If you think where we’ve come from 8 or 10 years ago when we were arguing with Norfolk Southern about an alignment and it all fell through. And now we’ve got a more perfect alignment that gets more people through the Johnny Wengert Memorial Park along Chestnut Street onto 22nd Street,” Kotay said. “And then into the mall. It’s just a much better alignment for everyone’s safety and more convenient.”

Read More: Wengert Memorial Park dedicated in memory of dairyman, community leader

Kotay said the trail will go from 22nd Street through the mall or, for those not wishing to go inside, will continue outdoors to the east end of the property over to 25th Street. 

“We’re going to be doing some pavement work there (at U.S. Route 422 and the mall entrance) along the sidewalk and along the roadway. The rail trail will hug the west side of that entrance roadway,” Kotay said. “Come to the point where that first internal major roadway is and then work its way over to a central location where pedestrians … will enter the building if they choose to do so. If you don’t choose to do so, the rest of the riders or users of the rail trail will wrap around the east side of the property, go to the back of the mall property, and then work their way over to 25th Street at the underpass.”

Kotay said new traffic control (push button) equipment will be installed at the tunnel entrance for pedestrians and bicycles to have the ability to travel through the one-lane tunnel that sits below the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks.

Trail project time extensions

The two grant extensions passed by commissioners are for Phase 6, 10A and 10B in the northern part of Lebanon County.

Phase 6 time extension is from Dec. 31, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2026. “We’re still not completed with Phase 6C on 22nd Street or 6D,” Kotay said. 

The letter to be submitted to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources says Phase 6C is expected to cost nearly $5 million and begin construction in 2026.

“It’s the most complex rail trail project we’ve done over the last 20+ years, involving a new bridge, a partial relocation of S. 22nd Street, the rail trail on the West side of S. 22nd Street and intersection and safety improvements at both ends of the project,” the letter reads.

6C is expected to begin in the spring of 2026 and take 18 months to complete, Kotay told LebTown. The time extension letter to DCNR notes that phases 6A and 6B were constructed in 2023-24 for $2.17 million.  

Phase 10A & 10B time extension

Kotay said phases 10A and 10B encompass the area from Jonestown Borough to Swatara State Park. 

“Phase 10A is currently under construction. That’s the section from U.S. Route 22 to Pine Tree Road. And then 10B will go from Pine Tree Road all the way out to Lickdale Road and to the entrance of the KOA campground (at Lickdale),” he noted.

There are various factors for seeking a two-year grant time extension from Dec. 31, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2027, according to Kotay.

“Boy, a lot keeps moving out there with that project. There’s some new ownership. We have some new easements to acquire,” he said. “There’s been some delays in DEP permitting and trying to sort out what the permits need to be. So with easements and design and soil testing and a whole variety of things, we need to request a time extension for two years for phases 10A and 10B.”

Phase 10B is anticipated to be in final design in 2016 and likely to begin construction in late 2026. Phase 10A construction is expected for completion next May.

Other business

In other business, commissioners voted unanimously to:  

• Name Calvin Miller as a farmer director and Bob Arnold as a public director to the Lebanon County Conservation District board. Their appointments are four-year terms that run through Dec. 31, 2029.  
• Renew a lease agreement for four years with Cleona Borough to provide county-owned office space for Magisterial District Justice John W. Ditzler. The rental amounts per month for each year are: 2026 – $1,125; 2027 -$1,150; 2028 – $1,175; and 2029 – $1,200.
• Provide a hotel tax grant totaling $3,350 of a requested $5,000 for the Mount Gretna Summer Concert series. Their budget is $6,700 and the application is so that organizers can advertise the event.   
• Approve the treasurer’s report. The county had on Nov. 6 total cash balance of $1,272,948.32 and received $4,286,1817, bringing the cash balance to $5,558,966.49. Expenditures were $2,416,960.26, another $1.3 million was transferred to other accounts, and following the county’s tax claim deduction of $27,061.88, the final cash balance is $1,814,944.35 as of Nov. 20.
• Accept various personnel transactions.
• Provide a real estate tax exemption for a fully disabled veteran or that person’s family. 
• Approve the minutes of their Nov. 6 meeting and an executive session on Nov. 19. It was noted that an executive session would occur at the end of the meeting to continue discussions from the previous day on personnel matters.

Lebanon County Commissioners meet the first and third Thursday of the month at 9:30 a.m. in Room 227 of the Lebanon County Municipal Building, 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon. 

The next meeting on Dec. 4 will feature the presentation of the 2026 budget, which currently sits at a projected $5 million deficit heading into the new year. State law requires commissioners to pass a balanced budget.